‘Delegates should choose the best’

Kayode Akinyemi was Director-General of Ekiti State Bureau of Strategic Communications during the administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi. In this interview with ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA, he speaks on his expectation about the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary holding on Saturday.

Ekiti APC lost woefully in 2014. Over 30 aspirants are struggling for the ticket. Don’t you think this may be the beginning of another failure?

I understand your feelings and it gives me concern too. To me, I expect the leadership of the party to come to the round table and access the reason behind the 2014 election failure. This, I believe, will enable us to come up with a blueprint to strategise for the current election.

For the party or for Fayemi?

For the party, of course. This is not about an individual, but in the overall interest of the party. Let me tell you, whoever wins the primary will fly the ticket of the party and all of us will have to work together to win the general election. I expect the party apparatus to come together, but unfortunately I notice some gaps and it is not too good for us. Shortly after Fayemi lost the election in 2014, the party members were disillusioned and in disarray. The likes of Senator Babafemi Ojudu took some bold step to bring people together; encouraged and reassured them with message of hope and assurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel. My advice to all the leaders and members of the party is to join hands immediately after the primary election to work for the common goal of winning the general election in July. I am however worried about the number of aspirants racing to occupy the office of the governor under the platform of the APC. I expect the party leadership to have coordinated it better to streamline the number of people that have genuine intention. Having said this, I hope all the contestants will be able to close ranks and work together after the primary. I have always said it that a situation where everybody is scheming to become governor will not augur well for the party. Meanwhile, we can all see from afar those who have what it takes to be governor and those who are aspiring for recognition and negotiation sake.

What are you suggesting?

Fundamentally, I think the leaders of the party and the delegates should scrutinise all the aspirants to identify the one that is credible, bold, brilliant and fearless. The one with audacity to rebuild and which can deliver the dividends of the democracy to the people of Ekiti State. Above all, we need a candidate with pedigree, a track record and which can face the incumbent administration and win landslide.

In all fairness, I am not against any aspirant, but in my opinion, I do not expect the APC to field any of the former governors, because I don’t see anything new they are bringing to the table again. With due respect to their persons, if you have been there for four years and you have not been able to satisfy the people and you have been voted out, how can you assure the people that your second coming will be better than the first one? So, we should be able to exploit other people that have done well in other areas of human endeavours.

Don’t you think experience could count and help somebody who had been governor before to perform better during his second coming?

I agree with you. But, you should also know that those who voted at the first time had thought the experience garnered over the years could be an advantage, but perhaps things didn’t work as planned. At that stage, I expect such persons to act as advisers to new aspirants and guide them based on their experience while in office, rather than seeking re-election. What I’m saying in essence is that we should avoid going back to the people we have tried ones and failed. You and I are living witnesses to how we lost in all the 16 local governments in 2014. Though after the election, some were saying that the election was rigged. I can’t say much about that, but there were things that happened that prepared ground for our loss. To authenticate the loss, as at 4pm to 5pm on the election day, when results were being announced unit by unit, people were jubilating in favour of the party that won. If the election was rigged, people would have protested instead. And don’t forget that Fayemi openly accepted defeat and went on air to congratulate the governor-elect.

What are your expectations about the primary?

It is very difficult to state categorically the outcome of the election, but like I said earlier, we know the serious ones and the top contenders. However, the only thing I want to add is to advise the party delegates to be upright and shun cash-and-carry politics. They should not sell their future and the future of their children. As noble Ekiti men and women, they should allow integrity to be their watchword. They should not trade their votes for money. I say this because we have heard that some contestants are boasting that they have money to buy the delegates. It may be a mere speculation, but it is not wise to dismiss such speculation.